Daddy's Little Filly
by OutDamnedSpot
Summary: A story dealing with a young Fluttershy and her relationship with her brash, boastful, former race-pony mother Firefly after the disappearance of her easy-going father.
1. Chapter 1

Fluttershy's knees were knocking rapidly. "Daddy," she said in a trembled voice to her father, Dragonfly, "Do I have to go to flight school?"

"Of course ya do, Fluttery!" her brash mother, Firefly, interrupted, "Why, when I was your age, I flew in circles all around Princess Celestia's castle and back home to Cloudsdale again! You're my daughter, so I'm sure you can do that too! Besides, don't you want to be a good inspiration for your little siblings back home?"

Fluttershy's mouth stood agape; she then let out a small "uh" but her gentle father cut her off in order to reply to the question she had previously asked him. "Your mother's right, Flutter. You'll be fine. Flying is just a skill every pegasus needs to know. You may or may not make a career out of it like your mother or I did, but I'm sure you'll be fine with doing whatever your heart desires, whether or not it may be flying."

"Alright, Daddy," Fluttershy said with a sigh. "But what if someone asks me who I am and I don't know them? How do I respond? Or worse, what if _no one _asks me who I am, and then when I need something from them, I won't know their name and I'll be too afraid to ask them? What do I do then, Daddy?"

"Fluttershy," her father replied calmly, "Don't worry about it. Rainbow Dash will be there, and if you need any help introducing yourself, she can help you. Okay?"

Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh. "Okay," she said. "Can you hold my tail while we walk there?"

Dragonfly smiled, but his wife raised an eyebrow at him, She always thought her daughter needed to grow a thicker mane. "Sure, Fluttery," Dragonfly replied, and he gripped his mouth on his daughter's tail until they arrived.

When they had gotten there, they saw Rainbow Dash flying through hurdles as her father, Thunder Dash, and mother, Lightning Dash, watched her. Rainbow stopped midair to greet her friend and her parents. "Hi Uncle Dragonfly! Hi Aunt Firefly! Hi Fluttershy!" Their families were not actually related, but Rainbow Dash called Dragonfly and Firefly her aunt and uncle anyway because they were such good friends with her parents.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash," Firefly said, "How's that Sonic Rainboom coming along?"

"Great!" Rainbow Dash replied, "I think I just need to work on flapping my wings a little harder and it'll be 20% cooler!"

"Wow, that's a lot more cool!" Firefly giggled.

"Yes, of course," Lightning Dash said with a smile. "She's determined to master that Sonic Rainboom of hers."

"That's wonderful!" Firefly replied, "Fluttershy's little brother Ace back home says that as soon as you learn how to do it, he wants to learn. Isn't that right, Dragonfly?"

"Oh yeah," Dragonfly said with a smirk.

"That'll be easy," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I'll be a master at Sonic Rainbooms by next week. Ace'll learn how to do one in ten seconds flat as long as he's learning from me."

"She's so determined, isn't she?" Firefly said to Lightning, "Maybe she could show Fluttershy a thing or two."

"Oh, well, she just gets it from her dad," Lightning said with a laugh.

"No, Lightning, are you kidding?" Thunder Dash laughed, "She gets it from you."

"No Thunder, I think she gets it from you," Lightning Dash said, still laughing.

"Well, where ever she gets it from, you can't help but be proud of her," Firefly said, "Right, honey?" She turned to her husband.

Dragonfly chuckled. "Of course, Firefly." Just then, the flight coach blew his whistle, signaling that flight practice was about to start and the parents should leave. Thunder and Lightning each kissed Rainbow Dash on the cheek and flew away.

Fluttershy had been sitting on an isolated cloud quietly. Her parents came over to say good-bye to her. Firefly approached her first. She kissed her cheek and said, "Have fun, Fluttery! And remember, do a good job. If you don't do well and they find out you're my daughter, I'll never be able to show my face in Cloudsdale again, understand?" By this point her nose was pressed up against her daughter's and her voice had gotten a bit aggressive. Fluttershy tried to squirm away from her mother, then she made a squeaky reply of "Yes mom."

"Good," Firefly said. She then used her front right hoof to mess up Fluttershy's mane from the center of her head. "Welp, see ya later, kiddo!" Then she flew off.

Dragonfly fluttered over to his daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry about your mother, Fluttershy. She sometimes gets a little too excited over these things."

"I know," Fluttershy squeaked.

Dragonfly laughed. "Just remember to have fun," he said as he smoothed out his daughter's mane that his wife had messed up earlier. He then kissed her cheek once more.

"Thanks, Daddy," Fluttershy said, and she rose her head up a little higher and went over to the hurdles to join her dear friend Rainbow Dash.


	2. Chapter 2

Fluttershy looked around at all of the different Pegasuses taking the flight class. Some of them looked a lot bigger than her. Some had wings the size of tree branches. Some were a lot older than her. Some even had their cutie marks already! Fluttershy felt insignificant compared to all these other pegasi. She feared of embarrassing her mother more than anything.

"Look, Rainbow Dash! I think that mare built extensions on her wings! Look, you can even see the paste! They should disqualify her!" Fluttershy then shouted over to the young pony, saying, "Hey, lady! We all know you're wearing extensions! Take 'em off! We have people here who _actually _want to learn, you know! Why, I oughta-"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash scolded, then approached the pony saying, "I'm sorry. She's just a little nervous. She's a first-timer around here." The pony nodded vigorously.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy said, "I apologize, ma'am. I don't know what came over me. I'm just really, really nervous, you see, and I-"

"It's fine," the pony said; neither Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash could decipher whether she meant it or not, and then the pony mumbled, "I remember my first flight lesson" and walked away.

"Ooh, sometimes I wish I hadn't inherited my mother's temper!" Fluttershy said to herself and Rainbow Dash.

"Psh, please," Rainbow Dash said, "At least you didn't get a weird-looking rainbow mane from your Grandma Oracle."

"I...I like your rainbow mane..." Fluttershy stumbled.

"Thanks," Rainbow Dash replied, "I'm just glad it's not thick and puffy like Oracle's was when she was young. You should see pictures of her then; she looked like a clown. All the mane-spray in the world couldn't control that mess." The girls both giggled, and then a tall, tan stallion with a dark brown mane and five o'clock shadow approached them. He wore a whistle around his neck and his cutie mark was a set of wings.

"Girls," he said sternly, "Get into place."

"Yes, sir!" both the fillies said in unison, although Fluttershy was a lot less enthusiastic about it.

"Now," the tall stallion said, "My name is Coach Gunpowder, and I'm gonna turn you all- even the awkward, lanky and all-around strange ones in this group-" he paused as he glared at a lanky young mare with a blonde mane and a grey body who was cross-eyed and wore braces- "into athletes. You are all going to soar the sky like Firefly or Dragonfly and win all sorts of awards in your flying abilities. Speaking of Firefly and Dragonfly, I was told they've settled down and have a few foals together. And one of them happens to be in this very class. Who might that be?"

Fluttershy was reluctant to respond, but she did. "Uhm, that's me, Mr. Coach Gunpowder, sir. Firefly and Dragonfly are my parents."

"That's wonderful," Gunpowder said, "I'll expect a lot from you then. Would you like to volunteer to demonstrate the proper flight technique first?" Fluttershy shook her head rapidly.

"All right then," said Gunpowder, searching for someone to demonstrate. "You, crossed-eyes" he said to the blonde filly.

"Huh?" she said, confused.

"What's your name?" Gunpowder asked.

"Uh, I dunno, what is my name?" she said in a spaced-out manner.

"Never mind," he said, "Your mother told me when she dropped you off here. Derpy Hooves, right?"

"Uh, I guess so," she replied.

"Not allowed to go near strange-looking vine plants, correct? Supposed to be wearing glasses to correct your lazy eye?"

"Uh..." Derpy said.

Gunpowder sighed. "Likes muffins...?" he said.

"Oh, YES YES YES YES YES! THAT'S ME, MR. COACH MAN SIR! I LIKE MUFFINS! MY NAME IS DERPY AND I LIKE MUFFINS!" she shouted.

"I guess _that _certainly triggered your memory," Gunpowder said with a smile. "Demonstrate the proper flying technique, Miss Hooves."

"Okay!" she replied. Derpy revved up her hind legs and flapped her wings rapidly, preparing for fly. Then she slowly drifted into the air. She was flying, but quite awkwardly. She appeared to have no control over what she was doing. But she let anyone know that. "I can see my house here!" she giggled. "Hi, every-pony!" She huffed and puffed as she made running motions in the sky.

Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof in her own face. "Hey, Derpy! You know you don't need to make those running motions, right? Flying is just like swimming! You just..." at this point she prepared herself to fly, and once she was in the air, she finished her sentence, saying, "Glide!" But then Gunpowder was in the air trying to stop her from showing off, and thus, Rainbow Dash crashed onto a nearby cloud. Some ponies were kind enough to help her and ask if she was alright, like Derpy and Fluttershy, while others just mocked her and called her "Rainbow Crash."

"That's enough!" said Gunpowder, trying to mediate the commotion. "Let Ms. Hooves finish her demonstration. Hooves, turn a corner."

"What...?" Derpy said.

"Turn a corner," Gunpowder repeated.

"Okay, Mr. Coach-Man, Sir!" Derpy replied. Then she attempted to turn a corner, but instead ended up flying upside down. She then tried getting herself back into the right side up position, but instead crashed into a pole. Then her braces got knocked loose. "Oooh, mom's gonna be so mad!" she said to herself as she tried to put them back into place. With her hooves in her mouth, she said inaudibly to Gunpowder, "Can I try again?"

"Not today," Gunpowder replied, "Who wants to go next?"

"I do!" Rainbow Dash said gleefully.

"Whoa-ho-ho, there, fella.." Gunpowder said, trying to stop the eager filly.

"I am not a fella!" Rainbow Dash protested. "I'm a filly! And I want to demonstrate!"

"You'll get your turn," Gunpowder replied, "I know you'll be great. You're Lightning and Thunder Dash's kid, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied confidently, then added, "Wait! But what about Fluttershy? Her parents were race ponies, too! But you don't have as much faith in her, do you?" Gunpowder stuttered, and Rainbow Dash repeated herself, saying "DO YOU?"

"Well," Gunpowder said, cornered, "I won't deny Firefly was brilliant during her racing days, but Dragonfly... well, he wasn't much. He was a low flyer, he crashed a dozen times, and he won just out of pure luck. I wouldn't doubt it if he just married Firefly to make him look like a winner."

"What?" shouted Fluttershy, jumping in on the situation. "My father loves my mother, and she loves him. How can you say that?"

"All I'm saying," Gunpowder continued, "Is that marrying for fame is quite common for celebrities."

"Not for my parents. They may bicker sometimes, but they love each other nonetheless."

"Yeah, well," Gunpowder continued, "They bickered so much at one time, they weren't living together. But you probably know about that."

"What?" Fluttershy cried.

"They separated. They couldn't stop arguing for a while. So they weren't living together. But then Firefly got pregnant so they decided to reunite for the sake of the baby. Now they're stuck with each other until the foals move out."

"No..." Fluttershy said with a tear down her eye. "You're a liar!" Just then, Fluttershy heard a familiar voice in the distance call her name. It was her father, who had come to pick her up.

"Daddy!" she said as she ran over to her father.

"I'm here for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash," Dragonfly said.

"Oh, of course! Pick-up time! I hadn't realized," Gunpowder said, "Class dismissed." Mrs. Hooves came to her daughter Derpy and nagged her to tighten her braces, not go near strange vine plants because they give her hives, and where in Equestria's name were her glasses? Other parents came as well, but none were quite as overprotective as Mrs. Hooves.

"How was school today, girls?" Dragonfly asked.

"Great!" Rainbow Dash said, "I got to fly for a bit, but then a stupid cloud got in the way. So Derpy asked if I were okay and Fluttershy helped me up. I raced a couple ponies, and I met a new friend! Her name is Gilda and she's a griffon! So she's half eagle, half lion!"

"Wow, that sounds quite awesome!" Dragonfly said laughing.

"It was!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"And Fluttery, how was your day?"

Fluttershy hung her head low. Then she raised it up, but didn't look directly at her father. "Uhm, okay," she squeaked.

Dragonfly giggled. "You've always been a mare of few words, Fluttery. But then again, so have I. Well, except for the mare part." All three giggled briefly, and then Rainbow Dash's home was right around the corner and Dragonfly dropped her off there, saying, "Say hello to your mom and dad for me, will you, RD?"

"I will, Uncle Dragonfly!" Rainbow replied as she walked towards her home, "See ya!"

"Goodbye, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy and Dragonfly said together. Then they headed towards their own home. Fluttershy wanted to discuss her parents separation prior to her birth which Gunpowder had mentioned, but she was too nervous and all she could say that even hinted her curiosity to this was "Uhm, Daddy..."

To which her father replied, "Yes, sweetie?"

And she said, "Do you and Mommy, um, _ really_ love each other?"

And Dragonfly was dumbfounded, and he said, "Of course, Fluttershy. Why on Earth would you even wonder that?"

"Uhm, no reason," Fluttershy replied as she held the door open for her father to their cottage in the clouds.


	3. Chapter 3

Fluttershy meekly glanced around the room and muttered, "I...I'm home..."

"Oh, Fluttery!" Firefly boomed, "How'd my little champ do today?" She said as she messed up her daughter's mane.

"Uhm...okay I guess..." Fluttershy replied as she smoothed out her mane. "What..what's for dinner?"

"Oatmeal and daisy sandwiches," Firefly said, matter-of-factually.

"Oh, wonderful," Fluttershy replied, "I'm going to wash up. I...I think I got cloud stains from class today..." She gently flew up the stairs to the bathroom, where her younger brother, Poindexter, was conducting an "experiment".

"Uhm, hi Poindexter," she said, "Can this wait 'till later? I...I need to wash up..."

"Sorry, Fluttershy," he said in his usual nasally voice which pronounced every symbol of his speech precisely, "I'm trying to prove once and for all that E does not always equal MC^2 and that if you multiply x with a certain amount of force..."

"Why are you using Mom's mane dryer to do it? I mean... wouldn't the pencil sharpener downstairs provide the same function?" Fluttershy suggested.

"That's right!" Poindexter said excitedly, "Fluttershy, you're a genius!" He headed down the stairs.

"Thank you," she replied sheepishly. Just then, Fluttershy's younger twin sisters, Primrose and Pansy rushed into the bathroom.

"I call the mascara!" Pansy chanted.

"Not if I get it first!" Primrose retorted. Then then grabbed Firefly's makeup bag with their teeth. Fluttershy tried gently telling them to stop, but when they wouldn't listen, she shouted "PANSY! PRIMROSE!" at them. They focused their attention to their sister whom they admired. She said, "Um, do you mind telling me what's going on?"

"We're putting on makeup," said Primrose.

"Yeah!" said Pansy, "So we can be just as pretty as you!"

"Oh, that's very flattering girls, but really, I'm no show-pony. Besides, when I was your age, I didn't wear any makeup at all. You girls are gorgeous as you are. Now I think we should leave. Little Cosmoshy needs to take a bath." Dragonfly had the youngest member of the family on his back. "But Fluttershy, I thought you were going to wash up..."

"It's alright, Daddy. Cosmoshy is just a baby. He can go first. I'll wait."

"That's my girl, Fluttery! Always so selfless." Fluttershy and her younger sisters got out of the bathroom so Cosmoshy could take a bath.

Finally, dinner had arrived. The family gathered around the table and Firefly said, "Kids! Come join us! Your father and I have an announcement!"

Several of the children guessed at what the announcement could be. Poindexter supposed his parents had finally agreed to buy him a molecular separator ray. Valenshy thought it was their anniversary and they would be vacationing somewhere without them and they would spend a week with Lightning, Thunder, and Rainbow Dash while they were away. Flutterby thought her father would be going on a new diet and expected everyone else in the house to follow suit. Fluttershy had no idea what it could have been, of course. She simply patiently waited for her parents to reveal the announcement.

Firefly denied all of the predictions made about the announcement and revealed the true announcement. The whole family would be going on vacation! Of course, Thunder and Lightning would be staying close by as well and they were likely to meet up and do activities together while vacationing. The foals were excited, but then they questioned where they would be taken. Fruityfly expressed his disdain towards Neigh-Agara Falls, which was just, in his words, "really big waterfalls and an icky Tunnel of Love ride."

"No," Dragonfly said with a chuckle, "We're not going there."

Then, more of the children named vacation spots they hated, like Upper Manehattan, Ye Olde Canterlote, and of course, boring old Ponyville which was so close to Cloudsdale it practically wouldn't be a vacation.

"No!" Firefly chuckled, "Not even close!"

"We're going to the Dragon Caves!" Dragonfly announced,

"Dragon Caves!" Fluttershy repeated with delight. She had remembered visiting there a long time ago, back when she was an only child. She could barely speak, but she remembered babbling to the adorable baby dragons who babbled back at her, and somehow they understood every word. A family of dragons were kind enough to make a beautiful saddle for her out of jewels they had hoarded and scales they had shed. She treasured that saddle more than anything. She remembered acknowledging a gentle giant of a dragon's magnificent wings, babbling on how she wanted wings like that when she was grown. The dragon would smile at her and hug her. The dragons would make her mother act so much less stern and uptight than her usual self. When Firefly was with the dragons, the too-determined Firefly who obsessed over winning would leave, and the young and lovely Firefly who stressed that being a race-pony was not about winning and simply relieving stress and having fun, would appear. Fluttershy had missed seeing her mother like that. Even at such a young age, Fluttershy knew her mother had many burdens and this trip would be sure to relieve them effortlessly. The last time she and her parents had been there, she knew they were accepted amongst the Dragon Community. She'd loved dragons, and they'd loved her.

"This will be perfect!" she thought. Then she went over to her parents and thanked them for letting the family go on this trip.


End file.
